Durus fi ilm al-usul (book)

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Durus fī ilm al-usul
AuthorSayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
Original titleدروس في علم الأصول
LanguageArabic
SubjectPrinciples of jurisprudence
Published1397/1977
PublisherMajma' al-Fikr al-Islami, and Dar al-'Ilm
English translation
En. titlePrinciples of Islamic jurisprudence
En. publisherLondon: Islamic College for Advanced Studies Press, 2003.
En. full textPreview


Durūs fī ilm al-uṣūl (Arabic: دروس في علم الأصول) or Ḥalaqāt al-uṣūl (Arabic: حلقات الأصول) is Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's book concerning principles of jurisprudence. Al-Sadr intended the book to be a textbook to be taught at the intermediate level of Islamic seminary courses. He introduces the book as an alternative to Ma'alim, Qawanin, Rasa'il, and Kifaya.

According to al-Sadr, the book contains new problems in principles of jurisprudence, which were not discussed in its predecessors.

"Halaqat" has three main parts, each of which covers a whole set of issues in principles of jurisprudence. In the first part, issues in principles of jurisprudence are introduced in simple terms. In the second part, the same issues are elaborated in more detail. And in the third part, those issues are discussed at an advanced level.

The book was first published in 1397/1977 in Najaf, and then it was reprinted in Qom and Beirut.

The Author

Main article: Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was born in 1935 in Kadhimiya, and in 1980 he was arrested and then martyred by the Ba'th regime in Iraq.[1] He was a religious, as well as a political authority of Shi'as in Iraq. He founded Hizb al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya (Islamic Da'wa Party).[2]

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr has provided novel theories in principles of jurisprudence, jurisprudence, political philosophy, and theory of knowledge. His best-known theories are haqq al-ta'a (the right for obedience),[3] mintaqat al-firagh,[4] and al-tawalud al-dhati li l-ma'rifa (spontaneous initiation of knowledge).[5] His most important books include Falsafatuna (our philosophy), Iqtisaduna (our economy), Durus fi ilm al-usul (Lectures in the science of usul), and al-Usus al-mantiqiyya li l-istiqra' (the logical foundations of induction).[6]

Motivation for Writing

The book, Durus fi ilm al-usul, known as Halaqat al-usul, is a book concerning principles of jurisprudence. Al-Sadr wrote the book at the request of his Iranian student, Sayyid Abd al-Ghani Ardabili. After his studies in Najaf, Sayyid Abd al-Ghani returned to his birthplace, where he founded an Islamic seminary. He was not satisfied by teaching traditional textbooks of principles of jurisprudence. Thus, he asked his teacher, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, to write a book concerning principles of jurisprudence for students of his seminary. Thus, al-Sadr wrote Durus fi 'ilm al-usul.[7]

Traditional textbooks of principles of jurisprudence at the intermediate level of seminary courses have been Ma'alim, Qawanin, Rasa'il, and Kifaya. Students of Islamic seminaries studied these four books to prepare themselves for advanced courses. Al-Sadr wrote Halaqat as an alternative to these four books.[8]

In the introduction of his book, al-Sadr mentions four reasons why "Halaqat" should replace Ma'alim, Qawanin, Rasa'il, and Kifaya:[9]

  1. These four books do not discuss new problems of principles of jurisprudence, and thus they fail to adequately prepare students for advanced courses. However, these problems are discussed in Halaqat.
  2. These books aren't pedagogical; they are in fact scholarly books containing the views and arguments of their authors. Thus, they do not qualify as textbooks in Islamic seminaries. However, Halaqat is committed to pedagogical methods so as to introduce learners to principles of jurisprudence.
  3. The four traditional textbooks contain materials that need to be addressed at the advanced level. However, Halaqat only contains materials that are needed by students at the intermediate level.
  4. There are crucial issues in principles of jurisprudence to which the above books have only referred in passing. However, these issues are discussed in Halaqat in more detail.

Structure and Content

The book has three main parts, each of which is called "al-Halqa" (link). Each Halqa contains a complete review of the problems of principles of jurisprudence, without pointing to different views and controversies about those problems. In the first Halqa, the problems are introduced very simply. In the second Halqa, the same problems are discussed in more detail. And in the third Halqa, they are discussed at an advanced expertise level.

In general, each Halqa has the following structure:[10]

  • Introduction: Definition of principles of jurisprudence, its subject-matter, and its use, the nature and kinds of Shari'a rulings.
  • Reliability of certainty (qat').
  • Evidence and its kinds: Decisive evidence (that is, canonical or shar'i, and rational or 'aqli) and practical principles (al-usul al-amaliyya).
  • Conflicts between two pieces of evidence.

Publication

Halaqat was first published in 1977 in Najaf.[11] It was then frequently reprinted in Qom and Beirut by publishers such as Daftar-i Intisharat Islami, Majma' al-Fikr al-Islami, and Dar al-Ilm. Expositions are written for the book by Muhammad Baqir Irawani and Sayyid Kamal Haydari. It also translated into Persian.

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, Zindigī wa afkār-i shahīd Ṣadr, p. 35.
  2. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Shahīd Ṣadr dar bastar-i andīsha wa ʿamal, p. 13, 14.
  3. ↑ Lārījānī, Naẓarīyya-yi ḥaqq al-ṭāʿa
  4. ↑ Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī wa rawish-i kashf-i ān az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr, p. 29.
  5. ↑ Khusrupanāh, Manṭiq-i istiqrāʾ az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Ṣadr, Mabāḥith al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 67-69.
  7. ↑ See: Ṣadr, Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, p. 109-110.
  8. ↑ Ṣadr, Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, p. 17.
  9. ↑ Ṣadr, Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, p. 18-26.
  10. ↑ Ṣadr, Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, table of contents.
  11. ↑ Ṣadr, Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 12.

References

  • Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Shahīd Ṣadr dar bastar-i andīsha wa ʿamal. In Majalla-yi Shāhid-i Yārān 18 (1386 Sh).
  • Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, Sayyid Kāẓim. Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī wa rawish-i kashf-i ān az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr. In Majalla-yi Iqtiṣād-i Islāmī 1 (1380 Sh).
  • Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, Sayyid Kāẓim. Zindigī wa afkār-i shahīd Ṣadr. Tehran: Wizārat-i Farhang wa Irshād-i Islāmī, 1375 Sh.
  • Khusrupanāh, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Manṭiq-i istiqrāʾ az dīdgāh-i shahīd Ṣadr. In Majalla-yi Dhihn 1 (1383 Sh).
  • Lārījānī, Ṣādiq. Naẓarīyya-yi ḥaqq al-ṭāʿa. In Majalla-yi Pazhūhish-hā-yi Uṣūlī 1 (1381 Sh).
  • Ṣadr, Muḥammad Bāqir. Durūs fī ʿilm al-uṣūl. Fifth Edition. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1418 AH.
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